Real Salt Lake fires head coach Mike Petke

Real Salt Lake (RSL) announced on Sunday that Mike Petke will no longer be the head coach of the team effective immediately.

Assistant Coach Freddy Juarez will be Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the 2019 season. The club issued the following statement:

On Tuesday, July 30, after an investigation and in conjunction with Major League Soccer, the club levied the steepest sanctions ever imposed on an MLS coach when we suspended Mike Petke without pay for two weeks in addition to his three-match suspension in MLS and $25,000 fine. After further deliberations and a series of constructive discussions internally and with various members of our community, we have concluded, pursuant to his employment agreement, to immediately terminate Mike Petke’s employment.

Last month, Petke was suspended after disruptive behavior and abusive language towards referees during a postgame press conference.